Evaluation of direct strain field prediction in bone with data-driven image mechanics (D ² IM-Strain)

Digital volume correlation (DVC) has become the benchmark experimental technique for full-field strain measurement in bone mechanics. In our previous work we developed a novel data-driven image mechanics (D ² IM) approach that learns from DVC data and predicts displacement fields directly from undeformed X-ray computed tomography (XCT) images, deriving strain fields from such predictions. However, strain fields derived through numerical differentiation of displacement fields amplify high-frequency noise, and regularization techniques compromise spatial resolution while incurring substantial computational costs. Here we propose the upgrade D ² IM-Strain to predict strain fields directly from XCT images of bone. Two prediction strategies were compared: displacement-derived strain and direct strain prediction. The direct strain prediction model significantly improved accuracy particularly for strain magnitudes below 10000με, taken as a representative threshold value for bone tissue yielding in compression. In addition, the direct approach reduced false-positive high-strain classifications by 75%. By eliminating numerical differentiation, the approach reduces noise amplification while maintaining computational efficiency. These findings represent a critical step toward developing robust data-driven volume correlation methods for hierarchical materials.